6 “Ninja” Tips to Gain Weight Fast Even If You’re a Skinny Guy

photo credit: Hikaru Kazushime

For naturally skinny guys like myself, building muscle and gaining weight can be an uphill battle. Certain body types were not designed to gain weight very easily (hardgainers, naturally skinny guys and those with fast metabolisms)

If you’re having a hard time trying to gain weight and build muscle, IT SUCKS, I know cause I’ve been there.

And since I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through to start seeing results here are 6 tips to gain weight that will help you change your physique and see results fast... even if you’re the skinniest guy in the gym.

Tip #1 - Eat High Protein Snacks Between Meals

Based on the countless emails and questions I get, if you’re not seeing results then odds are you’re not eating enough.

Here’s how to tell if you’re eating enough:

• If you’re a skinny guy or a hardgainer and you aren’t constantly nibbling on food and eating every few hours, then you’re NOT eating enough.
• If at any point during the day you feel hungry or your stomach feels empty then you’re NOT eating enough.
• If you’re trying to gain weight and build muscle and you’re “comfortably” consuming your meals for the day, in other words, it’s not a “challenge” for you to complete all of your meals for the day then you are NOT eating enough.

So the first thing you need to do is increase your caloric intake. Since it takes about 3500 EXTRA to gain 1lb of body mass I usually recommend guys start off by adding an extra 500 calories to they’re daily calorie intake.

The easiest way to do this is to eat high protein snacks between your meals

Here are a few quick High Protein snacks you can consume between meals each day:

• Protein bar
• Cottage Cheese
• Low Sodium Beef Jerky
• Nuts
• Tuna Fish Sandwich

Tip #2 - Consume Your BIGGEST Meal Within 90 Minutes After Your Workout

This tip will really help you stack on ALOT of muscle. After you workout, a window opens up where your body is PRIME to accept MASSIVE amounts of nutrients and dedicate it to muscle repair and muscle GROWTH.

Think about it, you’ve just unleashed HELL on your muscles, they’re depleted and hungry, plus your BIG DADDY muscle building hormone “Testosterone” is surging through your veins.

If you can feed your hungry and depleted muscles the MASSIVE amounts of nutrients it needs during this window you’ll not only start the recovery process almost IMMEDIATELY but your muscles will reward you by growing bigger and stronger FASTER.

Tip #3 - Limit Your Cardio

Building muscle is all about being in a SURPLUS of calories at the end of the day. So the more cardio you do, the more precious calories you’ll burn / waste.

If you must do cardio because you’re on a team or you play a sport or for whatever reason just keep in mind that you’ll have to consume EVEN MORE calories to make up for all the calories you burned.

Tip #4 - Train Heavy (no less than 6 reps - no more than 12 reps)

You can’t expect to gain weight and build muscle lifting baby weight, it doesn’t work that way. Your muscles need a certain level of stimulation in order to grow bigger.

The ideal rep range for muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) is 6 - 12 reps.

Here’s an example of what this would look like:

Bench Press

Set 1 - 12 reps
Set 2 - 10 reps
Set 3 - 8 reps
Set 4 - 6 reps

(choosing a weight that allows you to do less than 6 is TOO HEAVY and choosing a weight that allows you to do more than 12 is TOO LIGHT)

Tip #5 - 60 - 90 Second Rest Periods

The key to an “EFFECTIVE” muscle building workout is SHORT but INTENSE. If you stay too long in the gym pumping iron, you’ll be doing more harm than good when it comes to your muscle gains.

So a killer way to keep your workout short but at the same time INTENSE is to shorten your rest periods to 60 - 90 seconds. Which means you should have just enough time to adjust the weights before you’re ready to jump back in and do another set.

In other words, no lolligagging, no joking around with your friends and no taking 5 minute rests between sets, it should be ALL BUSINESS when you start your workout so you can finish as soon as possible.

Tip #6 - Be Consistent

If you really want to gain weight and build muscle you have to be consistent. You have to eat when you’re supposed, train when you’re supposed and rest when you’re supposed to.

Think of your body like “onion”.

Every time you go to the gym, murder your muscles, eat massive amounts of calories (at the right times) and allow your muscles to recover and grow bigger, you’re adding a new “layer” of muscle to your body.

The more you repeat this process, the more layers you’ll build, the bigger you’ll become and the faster your body will go through this process. But if you skip meals, and skip your workouts the less “layers” you’ll build and less gains you’ll see.

Unfortunately I can’t teach you everything when it comes to building muscle in this article but if you follow these 6 Killer tips to Gain Weight you WILL see results.

If you want a Proven Muscle Building Workout Plan and Muscle Building Meal Plan that can help you Gain 10 lbs in 1 Month then claim your copy of the 30 Day Build Muscle Challenge Training Guide.